Expressionists

Brought together in the UK for the first time in 80 years, this paperback exhibition book offers unprecedented access to the landmark exhibition's collection of masterpieces, exploring the story of the friendships that made modern art.

Expressionists is a story of friendships told through art – the groundbreaking work of a circle of friends and close collaborators known as The Blue Rider. In the early twentieth century they came together to form, in their own words, ‘a union of various countries to serve one purpose’ – to transform modern art.

Rallying around Wassily Kandinsky and Gabriele Münter these highly individual artists experimented with colour, sound and light, creating astonishingly bold and vibrant art – from Alexander Sacharoff’s freestyle performance to Gabriele Münter’s experimental photography, from Franz Marc’s innovative use of colour to the dramatic paintings of Marianne Werefkin.

The exhibition catalogue features in-depth investigations of major themes and a wide variety of spotlight essays to shine a light on a remarkable artistic group: their travels and techniques, their interests and sources of inspiration, and the relationships that bound them together. The front cover showcases Franz Marc’s Tiger, 1912, and the back cover is printed with Gabriele Münter’s 1909 vivid portrait of her friend and fellow artist, Marianne Werefkin.

Edited by Natalia Sidlina, Curator, International Art, Tate Modern, and with texts by Genevieve Barton, Stephen Borkhardt, Emily Christensen, Charlotte de Mille, Anne Grasselli, Miriam Leimer, Matthias Mühling, Bibiana Obler, Oksana Oliinyk, Dorothy Price, Niccola Shearman, Kimberly Smith, Melanie Vietmeier and Isabel Wünsche.